Which South Carolina nursing program has the lowest debt?

Clemson University reports the lowest median federal debt, $23,000, with first-year pay of $74,206.

How much do nursing graduates earn in South Carolina?

The median across 15 South Carolina nursing bachelor's programs is $73,493 in the first year after graduating and $77,480 five years after. Registered nurses in South Carolina earn a median of $82,360 across all experience levels.

How many nursing bachelor's programs are in South Carolina?

15 South Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

Nursing (BSN) Programs in South Carolina, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

15 programs report first-year pay
15 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median South Carolina nursing bachelor's program pays its graduates $73,493 in their first year, $945 less than the national median. Coastal Carolina University reports the highest first-year pay ($84,021), and Clemson University the lowest median debt ($23,000).

Median first-year pay$73,493National $74,438

Median pay after 5 years$77,480National $81,525

Median federal debt$27,000National $27,000

Debt-to-earnings37%National 36%

All 15 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Coastal Carolina UniversityConway · public	$84,021	$78,547	$39,750	47%
2	Lander UniversityGreenwood · public	$78,485	$70,405	$25,665	33%
3	Claflin UniversityOrangeburg · private nonprofit	$76,590	Not reported	$23,819	31%
4	USC UpstateSpartanburg · public	$75,849	$79,162	$26,250	35%
5	Clemson UniversityClemson · public	$74,206	$75,340	$23,000	31%
6	Anderson University (South Carolina)Anderson · private nonprofit	$73,882	$72,141	$27,000	37%
7	University of South CarolinaColumbia · public	$73,872	$74,996	$24,250	33%
8	Bob Jones UniversityGreenville · private nonprofit	$73,493	$80,294	$26,972	37%
9	Newberry CollegeNewberry · private nonprofit	$72,756	$68,144	$27,000	37%
10	University of South Carolina AikenAiken · public	$72,714	$77,864	$28,500	39%
11	Francis Marion UniversityFlorence · public	$70,110	$77,480	$29,250	42%
12	Medical University of South CarolinaCharleston · public	$68,199	$87,011	$29,043	43%
13	Charleston Southern UniversityCharleston · private nonprofit	$66,310	$70,509	$31,000	47%
14	University of South Carolina BeaufortBluffton · public	$64,671	$80,634	$27,000	42%
15	Citadel Military College of South CarolinaCharleston · public	$60,791	Not reported	$29,500	49%

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina nursing program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Carolina medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 15 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

What registered nurses earn in South Carolina

Pay for registered nurses in South Carolina, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Registered Nurses

$82,360

Median pay in South Carolina. 49,750 people work in this job in South Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $66,860Top 10%: $106,520

Common questions

Coastal Carolina University in Conway reports the highest median first-year pay, $84,021. Its median federal debt is $39,750.

Nursing (BSN) programs in the US, ranked895 programs by pay and debt Nursing (ADN) programs in South Carolina, ranked14 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of South Carolina rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the nursing bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024